Recently in Romance pg.2 Category

Directed by Matt Waters. Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, Breckin Meyer, Robert Forster, Anne Archer. Romantic Comedy. Synopsis: A successful and womazing fashion photographer returns home for his younger brother's wedding and meets up with an old flame. Upon making his disdain for the institution of marriage very clear at the rehearsal dinner, he is visited by the ghost of his playboy uncle and, thereafter, the ghosts of previous girlfriends. 

There is a reason good stories get told over and over. Its because they are good. Seems obvious, huh? Well, of course it is. We're talking movies, here, not rocket science. Most of us born or living in any part of the second half of the 20th cenury into this century have seen countless takeoffs or adaptations of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol (a novel that is close to two hundred years old, by the way) and the reason we have is because the story is good, compelling, and real on so many levels it became timeless.

So, why not an adaptation that takes the lessons of a Holiday out of it, replaces it with romance, and keeping the rest of the basic structure? O.k., by me, I'm always up for something new. So, you basically know the premise of the story before you even watch one second of it, plus the fact that it stars McConaughey. (No, I'm not accusing him of always playing the same type of character, if not role, since Amistad. I'm not...really. I'm just sayin')

Now that we've established that we all know how this one is going to play out before we even pick it up, the next question we need to grapple with is the age old mystery: Will I enjoy it?

I believe you will.

Why, you might ask?

Because I did, and I'm generally unsympathetic to romantic comedies as a genre. (Talk about formulaic and seeing nothing new) For reasons I can't adequately explain, even to myself, I really like McConaughey and generally enjoy his movies. For reasons that should be obvious to all when I state that I am red blooded male, I also like Jennifer Garner.

The story plays out like you know it would, beginning with a glimpse into the sexy, successful, and ultimately empty life of one Connor Mead (McConaughey Two For The Money) who juggles aspiring super model girlfriends with his aspiring super model flings and one night stands. And, to be honest, he seems to be having the time of his life. The first few minutes of the film, alone, give us enough laughs to justify the "comedy" in romantic comedy. 

Soon, Connor is off to the wedding of his little bro, Paul (Breckin Meyer) who is the polar opposite of Connor in that he wants to settle down with one woman. But, not all are awaiting Connor's arrival with bated breath. Those would include a number of the bridesmaids and Paul's slightly neurotic intended (Lacey Chabert), not to mention Jenny (Jennifer Garner), whom has known Connor since childhood, has experienced his "love 'em and leave 'em" ways up close and personal and is (HUGE SURPRISE!!!) the true love of his life.

Well, you put all those ingredients in the bowl, throw in some pre-wedding frivolity, add a little champagne, and you're going to get an interesting soup. As if our main characters are not interesting enough, the divorced parents of the bride, the sultry Anne Archer (Narrow Margin End Game) -herself a recipient of Connor's advances-and the father (Robert Forster Jackie Brown) add some serious spice and laughs to the flick. Especially Forster's character, the epitome of the stereotypical combat vet who is very reluctant to accept that the war is over.

But, my favorite character, and I bet your's too, is Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas The Sentinel ) playing the Jacob Marley role as Connor's deceased uncle, who did raise Connor and Paul but also taught Connor his playing-the-field ways. Douglas, whom I've always thought brings a tinge of comedy to his dramatic roles, is simply hilarious and, to use a cliche, steals the show. 

We all know that romantic flicks don't work ultimately unless there is believable chemistry and empathy between the two lovebirds and Garner and McConaughey have that here. So, it woks well, largely because its hard for this story not to work if its acted well. And, it was. 

So, my verdict is predictable. You'll like it if you like the Dicken's story, romantic comedies in general, or Jennifer Garner. If you're a McConaughey or Douglas fan, I'd say its must see. 

Directed by Robby Henson. Billy Bob Thornton, Sela Ward, William Devane, Patricia Arquette, Julie Hagerty, Marcus Lyle Brown, Hill Harper, Thomas Hayden Church. Drama. Synopsis:A disillusioned sheriff of a small Louisiana county becomes involved in the invesstigation of the murder of a transgendered woman at the same time that his personal and political life take a downturn.

A wonderful smaller budget film with a great and deep cast that is well directed with an interesting story. Funny how that recipe seems to work more often than not, isn't it? In the film, we are quickly introduced to Sheriff Darl Hardwick (Thornton) the consummate good ole boy who just wants to do some good, get along as well as he can with his high powered attorney ex-wife (Ward) and daughter, and, of course, get re-elected. Maybe not necessarily in that order.

The intrigue starts very early as Darl and his two deputies Jackson (Marcus Lyle Brown) and CB (Ray McKinnon) investigate a seemingly victimless accident as a truck carrying a large quantity of shoes veered off the interstate. Darl, skeptical of the driver's claim that a woman had caused him to crash the truck, instead seems more interested in dispatching the shoes, for free, to some citizens-likely voters-at the accident scene. After Darl has played Santa Claus for a while, he is as surprised as anyone when, lo and behold, there is the corpse of a woman lying unnoticed by the side of the road. 

As if this turn isn't interesting enough, the plot, as they say, thickens even more when two things are determined: 1) the young woman died of a gunshot, not being hit by a truck and 2) the woman appears to be a hermaphrodite, not a common thing in small town Louisiana.

Things quickly go from bad to worse for Darl, as his handling of the free shoe affair quickly displeases the County Judge and power-broker (William Devane Bad News Bears In Breaking Training), and his sloppy handling of what now seems to be a murder investigation is just another sticky subject between he and ex-wife and County D.A. (Sela Ward The Fugitive).

The film progresses in an excellent fashion, with the key turn being the sudden appearance of a young woman from New Orleans (Patricia Arquette) who suddenly turns up in town looking for her friend, a dancer who she hasn't heard from in a while. Darl, ever on the lookout, takes a shine to this young lady, and is bemused when she claims to be the dead woman's "wife". 

Henson does a wonderful job of telling us several stories inside of one big story at one time, so that we follow all layers and one strain of the movie does not detract from another. From the burgeoning romance Darl has Patricia Arquette's character, to his relationship with his father and long estranged brother (Thomas Haden Church), to the deepening intrigue of the murder investigation that, suddenly, no one except Darl wants to investigate, the result of which results in Darl facing a reelection campaign against one of his own deputies and new favorite of the power brokers.

The film cannot be done justice in a short review, which just might spoil it anyway, but the descent of Darl, a character we both like and are critical of, is interesting to watch as it unfolds in the midst of a new romantic possibility and a murder case that stretches up to the highest levels of Louisiana politics.

Thornton is wonderful, as he always is for those of us who just like him, and the other main actors bring the characters to life in a way that everyone can empathize with and, if any of you have ever worked or been around law enforcement, particularly in the Deep South, like moi , you will find yourself saying, "I know/knew a judge/lawyer/politician/deputy just like that!" Also, I'll bet you'll find yourself hating Devane's character, but loving him in the role, which is something only the real good ones can pull off.

Arquette is fabulous as well, she has long been my fave of the talented Arquette family. Two characters who have relatively small roles but make a huge mark on this film are Sister Felecia (Julie Hagerty Airplane) and Gizmo (Hill Harper). They both deserve special mention.

Ultimately, however, its Thornton who has to carry this film and he does, as he always will when cast correctly.

This film is a triple. The only thing that keeps it from being a home run on DVD is the lack of special features which, with a cast and story like this, would have been a ton of fun and interesting to watch. 

Directed by Tom Dey. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Barth, Bradley Cooper, Tyrell Jackson Williams. Romantic Comedy.  Synopsis: A successful business man in his late 30's has it going pretty well: making good money, dating a lot of nice young women, and living in a nice house. There is just one thing: he still lives with his parents and has no intention of moving out. His parents conspire with a professional dater, a woman who specializes in this type of thing, to get him out of their house for good.

Failure to Launch is the kind of cutesy romantic comedy that, generally, I am not real anxious to watch. Or so I thought. I wanted to give it a shot, since I like both of the two stars and I had heard some good things about it. I am glad to report that this film is not, surprisingly, the sickeningly sweet romantic comedy that you might think it is, nor is Tripp (Matthew McConaughey Two For The Money) portrayed as the complete loser that you might expect in a 35 year old living with his parents.

In truth, there are many legitimate reasons why one might live with a parent into their 30's (something that your humble blog writer did as well), and most times the parent is more than happy with the situation. In this flick, Tripp is a successful, mature guy who dates a lot and just doesn't see a compelling reason to move out of his parent's (Terry Bradshaw, Kathy Bates Misery) comfortable home.

In fact, a couple of Tripp's best buddies (Justin Barth, Bradley Cooper) are also 30 somethings that live with their parents, so there is not even the peer pressure for Tripp to change up. Tripp's mom and dad love their son, but wouldn't mind it too much if he would just get out on his own and give them some space. 

Luckily for them, they find out about a professional dater, a woman who specializes in getting guys out of their parents home. Enter Sarah Jessica Parker (Spinning Into Butter) folks. Now, set aside the obvious question of how someone can make a living doing this, and you can appreciate that she is good at her job and dedicated to it as well.

Of course, we know that they are going to fall in love, but the good thing about this movie is that it keeps the story interesting along the way and the expected funny scenes, although not fresh or innovative, are still funny. Matthew McConaughey is the kind of pretty boy actor that guys can love, largely because of his "I know I'm getting over but I love it and I'm not sorry" attitude. Sarah Jessica Parker is wonderful with her comedic timing and talent, as always, and I really like her roommate in this one (Zooey Deschanel) who is the polar opposite of Parker, but manages to steal most of the scenes she is in.

Terry Bradshaw is hilarious as Tripp's dad, he is a natural at the comedy thing, as those of us who watch him during the NFL season already knew. Sure, I could have done without the nude backside scene, but it is amusing in the context of the film. One of the more tender things that will appeal to many in this movie is Tripp's relationship with his "nephew" (Tyrell Jackson Williams), who we find out late in the film is related to a woman that the ever-playing-the-field Tripp actually wanted to marry.

My biggest complaint about the movie is that the most accomplished and, arguably, most talented, member of the cast didn't have enough to do. To me, when you have Kathy Bates in your cast, you have to make her the focal point of a few scenes, at the very least. But, this is minor in light of the overall movie. This flick delivers just what you think, a neat film with some touching moments and a lot of laughs. Nothing for the ages, nothing that we are going to be talking about on the next Oscar night. But, a good time and a good rental or even purchase. And, when you get right down to it, I can't really expect more than that, can I?     

Directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring: Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Anna Faris, Eddie Izzard. Synopsis: A young bachelor who loves his single life finds he has to deal with the fact that he has strong feelings for a woman at work who is already taken and that the girl is currently seeing is a little unstable....and she is a superhero. Comedy/Action/Fantasy.

I didn't know exactly what to expect when I picked up this one. I hadn't heard too much about it and I didn't do a whole lot of due diligence in reading the back cover. I don't know what I was thinking, maybe a comedic take off of Uma's action hero talents that she showed in Kill Bill. Well, it wasn't like that at all and Uma's character (Jenny Johnson/G Girl) is not what I expected.

Now, don't go jumping to conclusions thinking that I was disappointed in this one, I wasn't. In fact, its pretty good and it is funny, just in a different way than I thought. The protagonist (Luke Wilson Idiocracy) is just a regular, successful young businessman who is confortable playing the field. As such, there is nothing out of the ordinary about his date with Jenny, until the incredible lovemaking session. It seems that Jenny has almost superhuman energy and stamina. Don't worry, if you have a mind to, that the superhero angle is played for some cheap thrills in the love scenes. Its not, pure comedy only.

There is one other thing about Jenny. She is kind of, as they say, "high maintenance", and this only intensifies when she reveals to Luke that she is, in fact, G Girl, the well known superhero. Wow, now things are going to get complicated. Especially when it comes time to dump G Girl, as Luke now has his eye on a girl from work (Anna Faris Scary Movie) who is already taken but the energy between them is there, if you know what I mean.

Well, you take a guy with a jealous-if not neurotic-girlfriend  who happens to have super powers; add into the equation that he has eyes for a taken woman, and the recipe for laughs is there. There is a very good "making out in the clouds" scene with Thurman and Wilson that is particularly funny.

And, there is more. Every suoerhero needs an anti hero to make it a true superhero stroy, and we've got one here in Bedlam, whose alter ego, Barry, happens to be an old friend of Jenny/G Girl. And he knows about her new boyfriend.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is not a masterpiece, but it doesn't try to be and I always like that in a film. It wanted to make me laugh and it did. Wilson and Faris (Scary Movie) in particular do a good job keeping us giggling.

Not a bad flick.

In fact, pretty good.  

Directed by Hunter Richards. Starring Chris Evans, Jessica Biel, Joy Bryant, Jason Statham, Kelli Garner. Comedy/Romance.  Synopsis: A young man with a drug addiction and volatile personality deals with the news that his former girlfriend is moving across the country without telling him by crashing her going away party.

Now, for those of you who watch movies often and sometimes find yourself decrying the lack of imagination from Hollywood, this will warm your heart as it is a very different type of film, told in a unique and brusque way that, for some will be funny, but for others maybe not.

We meet Syd (Chris Evans) in the opening frames as he receives a phone call at his modest apartment. We don't hear the substance of the call, but its obvious from Syd's reaction-pretty much destroying his home-that he is not pleased with what he has just heard.  It soon turns out that the scoop Syd just received is that his former girlfriend, London (Jessica Biel) is moving away and having a going away party thrown at the spacious apartment of one her rich friends. Only problem is that Syd wasn't invited.

Well, old Syd drops the first of what will be countless F-bombs, verifies this information with a mutual friend of his and London's (Joy Bryant) and proceeds to start snorting prodigious amounts of cocaine as he resolves to crash the party. He meets up with a professional looking coke dealer named Bateman (David Statham) and the two of them snort some coke together, with Syd convincing his new friend to crash the shindig with him.

What follows is, primarily, the two of them in this spacious bathroom, doing line after line of cocaine, sharing some with the occasional visitor to the bathroom, and talking about deep topics such as religion and pain. Frankly, a lot of what they have to say is hilarious, though taken against the backdrop of their drug use, its is definitely what might be called "dark humor".

Much of the story is told in flashback, as we see a slightly more clean-cut Syd in some of his situations with London. Their relationship can only be described as "stormy" as the hotheaded Syd and the chameleon like London seemed to always have some major cross to bear, whether its Syd's incessant jealousy or volatile temper, or London's questionable practice of fibbing now and then to him.

The whole key to the story is believing that these two people have a strong attraction and love for each other, and think that they do as presented in the film. Whether they should, based on their shallow natures, is another question.

The acting in this one is very good, all of the main characters are good actors, though the majority of the story is built around Statham and Evans. Statham is especially good in his self deprecating yet self centered role. Evans is playing such a different character from the one that most probably know him from (Cellular) , that I had to look again to make sure it was the same guy, which is the mark of a good actor when its not dependent on makeup.

The ending is a little bit different, not surprising at all, but done in such a way as to leave us hanging as to what will happen next, or how we feel about the very different direction the story took in the last 15 minutes of the film. I didn't care for the ending all that much, but its the kind that 10 different people will feel 10 different ways about. 

Warning: if you pick up this film, you will see a lot of drug use, and a kind of glorification of the hedonistic lifestyle of the young and wealthy. If that bothers you, you may want to reconsider, although I think the point is to parody that life style and/or show its emptiness without love.

Some will really like London, some will really dislike it.

Aside from the "left me hanging ending", I liked it.

Directed by Marc Lawrence. Starring High Grant, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Johnston, Campbell Scott, Haley Bennett, Scott Porter, Suzi Lorraine. Synopsis: A washed up pop star from the '80's is rejuvenated when he meets a young woman who helps him regain his energy by becoming his lyricist and eventually falling in love. Comedy/Romance.

I treated myself to this one in the theater on Valentine's Day. Even though it is well known that I am not a big fan of romantic comedies, I will give them a shot from time to time and I'm glad I did with Music & Lyrics, because its a good time if you go into with the right frame of mind.

The plot is an fairly interesting twist on the tried and true boy meets girl-boy loses girl-boy gets girl at the end formula that has been in vogue since the day before the first romantic comedy in the history of cinema. High Grant (Mickey Blue Eyes)  is a former 80's pop music star who is own the "downside", as they say, playing at state fairs and even being invited to star in a celebrity boxing match. To make matters even worse, the other part of his previously successful music duo has maintained stardom for all of these years.

Things have the potential to look up for him, in more ways than one, when he has the opportunity to write a song for the current big star (Haley Bennett), something that could get his career back on track. There is just one problem. He has a problem with writing lyrics and he doesn't have much time. Into this breach steps the young woman whose job it is to water his plants (Drew Barrymore 50 First Dates) .

She has what he lacks: a knack for creating catchy and inspired lyrics. The only issue is that she has some past relationship problems of her own and is, initially, somewhat reluctant to help Hugh. Of course, this lessens as their relationship warms up. One of the best things about this flick, for my money, was her older sister (Kristen Johnston) who is unabashedly from the generation that worshipped Hugh and goes ga-ga over her little sister's new man in a way that even her little sis does not.

Look, there is nothing earth shaking-unless you count the brief opening throwback scene of an 80's music video with gorgeous horror Queen Suzi Lorraine (Cold Blonded Murder)  as the sultry nurse- or awe inspiring about this movie, its just entertaining with more than its share of laughs.  Grant is not everybody's cup of tea, but you do have to give him credit for being an expert at the dry, tongue-in-cheek-with-the-regal-accent dry comeback. He probably has no peer in this narrowly defined category.

I think Barrymore is a supremely talented actress who plays her trademark "happy" girl to perfection here. I would like to see her do something different, with a little more of an edge (think Poison Ivy) , but she is doing very well, thank you, with these very identifiable type of roles. As I alluded to earlier, Johnston is wonderful and, frankly, the best scene stealer and arguably the funniest character in a funny movie.

Music & Lyrics is a good "chick flick", but the real neat thing about it is that you will get some smiles and laughs from it even if you are not a "chick" or normally into the sappy romance stuff. 

It works. 

Starring Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Alicia Witt, Gerard Depardieu. Comedy/Romance.  Synopsis: A young woman who has lived her life only dreaming of possibilities learns that she has an inoperable brain condition and decides to make the three weeks that she has left really count by doing many of the things she was afraid to do while she thought she had all of the time in the world.

Well, first of all, you need to know that I am not unbiased when talking about this movie, because it has Queen Latifah and I'm predisposed to love anything with the Queen in it. Now that you know that, I'll try to be objective in talking about Last Holiday. I watched it, of course, because of the Queen and in spite of the fact that I'm not a romantic film guy, and this one looked to be sort of the cutesy romantic type movie that I rarely want to watch, but usually enjoy after I actually watch them...which is not that often. (I've got my male ego to think about, you understand)

This is a cute, fun movie that I think almost anyone would enjoy to some extent. Queen Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a young woman who works in a superstore in Louisiana and has a hard time expressing her crush on a fellow employee, Sean (LL Cool J Edison Force). Georgia is nice, friendly, a little on the dumpy side, sings in the church choir, and has big dreams that she keeps track of in a book called "Possibilities".

Things go along fine, if somewhat dull, until one day Georgia decides to really talk to Sean, results in a accidental bump on the head, which results in a routine CAT scan where Georgia learns she has a fatal disease of the brain, and only has weeks to live. Choosing not to spend the time feeling sorry for herself or telling those close to her what is really going on, Georgia decides to cash in her savings and, in a memorable line from the film "Just blow it."

Georgia heads to Prague, where she puts herself up in the Presidential suite of an exquisite hotel and embarks on days/night of manicures, skiing, full body massages, fine dining and all manner of spoiling herself. Here, the movie really picks up as, believe it or not, Georgia runs into the shark businessman/tycoon who actually owns the store that she used to toil in, Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton Ordinary People, The General's Daughter). And, to boot, there is a Louisiana Senator (Giancarlo Esposito) who has just recently stood up Georgia's church due to political business, yet has time to ski and get his palms greased in Prague (and takes a major shine to an uninterested Georgia).If that is not enough, the world famous chef Dider (Gerard Depardieu), a hero of Georgia's,  is cooking at the hotel and Georgia is treated to her own personal valet, Gunther (Sally Kellerman).  

It seems that Georgia, outfitting herself in dresses that would stand out on Rodeo Drive and living in the $4000.00 a night suite, is understandably mistaken for a rich power broker, and soon has the interest of all of the people mentioned above, not to mention another Congressman (Michael Nouri) and even Matthew Kragen's mistress (Alicia Witt)

The plot in the film is a little far-fetched and there is a "twist" at the end of the film that you will be able to call about 15 minutes into the movie even if you watch it blindfolded. Having said that, its just fun to watch as the overall theme is how drawn people are to Georgia because of the person that she is, even moreso than the person they perceive her to be, and her growing sense of what life has to offer if you give it your all, sadly realized only when not much of life is left.

Despite the pretty solemn underlying theme, there are plenty of laughs throughout from a wonderful cast with no less than six supporting actors ( Hutton, LL Cool J, Depardieu, Esposito, Nouri, Witt) who are perfectly capable, in my opinion, of carrying a film all by themselves. As if that is not enough, Sally Kellerman and Ranjit Chowdry are hilarious during their relatively short time onscreen.

Queen Latifah shows, again, that she is a very good actress with presence, beauty, and a lovable nature that happens to come in plus size. How refreshing.

I really have nothing critical to say about the film, its not the best or funniest movie you've ever seen...maybe not even this year...but it knows that and doesn't take itself too seriously, one of the most common flaws of films that miss. Its just a pleasant, fun way to spend an hour and a half and, as long as you are the rare movie fan that doesn't need/expect your life or outlook on life to be changed in one sitting, can make it through a movie without controversial historical revisionism, aliens, gratuitous nudity, finding out that the main character was actually dead the whole time, and/or several gory torture scenes, I think you will really, really like this one.

But, like I said earlier, I'm heavily biased when it comes to the Queen.